How To Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for Apache

Why Run Nginx and Apache Together

Both nginx and apache are powerful and effective servers. Apache currently reigns as the #1 server for websites and since its public release in 2006, nginx has taken the world by storm and is now the #2 server for active sites. The reasons for each respective server’s popularity are clear: apache’s power and nginx’s speed are well known. However, both servers do have drawbacks—apache is hard on server memory, while nginx (great at static files) needs the help of php-fpm or similar modules for dynamic content.

However, one can combine the two web servers to great effect, with nginx as static web server front and apache processing the back end.

Setup

To perform the steps in this tutorial, you will need to have sudo privileges on your virtual private server.

The main issue that needs to be addressed here is that the virtual host needs to be, once again, running on port 8080 (instead of the default 80 given to nginx).

The line should look like this:

&ltVirtualHost 127.0.0.1:8080>

Make sure your Document Root is correct. Save and exit the file and activate that virtual host:

sudo a2ensite example

Before we start testing anything out, we need to equip apache with php. Go ahead and install it now:

sudo apt-get install php5

Restart both servers to make the changes effective:

sudo service apache2 restart

sudo service nginx restart

Finish Up

We have set up the VPS with nginx running on the front end of our site and apache processing php on the back end. Loading our domain will take us to our site’s default page.

We can check that information is being routed to apache is working by running a common php script.

Go ahead and create the php.info file:

sudo nano /var/www/info.php

Paste the following lines into that file:

&lt?
phpinfo( );
?>

Save and exit.

Visiting your domain/info.php should show you php info screen, and you’ll be able to see that this was handled by apache. (screenshot here)

Finally, you can see which ports are open and which application is on each one by typing in this command.

sudo netstat -plunt

See More

Configuring nginx and Apache together can be a great boost to a server, and this was just a brief overview. If you have any specific questions about the configuring the two together, feel free to post your questions in our Q&A Forum and we’ll be happy to answer them.